Executive
Summary

Introduction

The
Northeast Region of Bangladesh (Figure 1) contains numerous large
semi-natural wetlands and small fragments of natural and human-modified
upland forest. This document focuses on selected biodiversity elements of
these landscapes. This information is part of the total information base
generated for the NERP regional water resources planning exercise. Other NERP
reports - in hydrology/hydrogeology, fisheries, river morphology and
sedimentation, social anthropology, and so on - document other
characteristics of the region.

Scope of study
and methodology

The
information presented here is based on (1) wetland field studies
conducted throughout the region during the period December 1991 to May 1993 a
naturalist team including a wetland specialist, ornithologists, botanists,
and wildlife biologists; (2) village-level participatory studies
conducted in villages at three of the key wetland sites and near threatened
habitat fragments from January to March 1994 by a team of social anthropology
field workers; and (3) upland forest visits during early 1994 by the
naturalist team.

Executive summary (continued)

The wetland field studies opened with a regional wetland appraisal
and ornithology survey at the height of the waterfowl migration season, and
included three aerial surveys. Based on these observations, a programme of ornithological, floral, and wildlife studies
was designed and carried out at selected sites over the next year.

The village-level participatory studies were designed as a follow-on
investigation, to learn from local people their perceptions of the history and
current status of wetland resources, in particular remaining threatened habitat
fragments; how these landscape elements were and are managed and utilized; what
benefits they previously and currently provide(d); and
what measures could be taken to secure their survival and continued local
benefits.

The upland forest visits were undertaken to round out NERP's
understanding of regional biodiversity, and to draw attention to the small but
highly biodiverse fragments of tropical forest
remaining in the region. Uplands account for but a small fraction of the study
effort; results are presented in Annex E.

Historical
perspective

In
its original form, the haor basin of northeast
Bangladesh would have consisted of a rich mosaic of permanent and seasonal
lakes and ponds with abundant aquatic vegetation, surrounded by vast areas of
swampy ground with tall reeds and seasonally flooded grasslands. Swamp forest,
dominated by Barringtoniaacutangulahijal, Pongamiapinnatakoroch, and other flood-tolerant tree species, would
have covered the river levees, and provided a secure refuge for terrestrial
wildlife during the monsoon floods. On higher ground, this would have given way
to scrub jungle and dense stands of bamboo.

Wildlife would have been abundant - Marsh Crocodile, Otter, Rhinoceros, Wild
Buffalo, and Swamp Deer grazing in the marshes; Asian Elephant, Gaur, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, and Wild Boar roaming the forests
and grasslands; and Tigers and Leopards, and smaller cats and other types of
predators hunting their preferred habitats.

Birds would have been everywhere - teeming flocks of migrant ducks and
herons, egrets, storks, ibises, whistling-ducks, comb ducks, pygmy geese and
many more species. During the breeding season, there would have been huge mixed
colonies of cormorants, herons, and storks in the patches of forest, while the
marshes would have rung with the bugling calls of Sarus
Cranes.

Many millennia ago, humans would have begun visiting and later inhabiting
the region, initially fully dependent on hunting animals and gathering plants.
Later, domesticated herds and cultivated crops would have taken on increasing
importance, introduced through local innovation, and by traders, travelers, and
new settlers.

Today, although most of the permanent water bodies have survived, all the
other major natural ecosystems have almost completely disappeared. Vast areas
of the seasonally flooded plains have been converted to rice monoculture, while
areas less suitable for rice are now heavily grazed by domestic livestock or
cultivated for wheat and other crops. The swamp forests have been reduced to a
few small patches, often no more than ten or twenty widely scattered and now
very old trees, while all land above the level of the monsoon floods has been
utilized for permanent settlement and homestead forests. The swamp forests,
scrub jungle, bamboo thickets, and dense stands of reeds have almost entirely
disappeared.

One result is that wave erosion increasingly affects many villages of the
deeply flooded area, as the grasses, reeds, and swampforest
trees growing around them are removed. Still today, however, many villagers of
the region, especially the poorest, still rely on wetlands for biomass fuel,
building material, fodder, and food, and the continuing loss of these
potentially renewable resources is a source of hardship to them.

Similarly, the hillocks within the region and foothills areas along its
borders were once covered with primary growth tropical forest, a habitat type
that here as elsewhere is highly biodiverse. Now,
most has been converted to tea plantation, scrub, or monoculture forest
plantation. Only one small fragment of primary growth forest survives; a few
others though significantly human-modified retain significant biodiversity.

Internationally
significant wetland sites

The
NERP wetland investigations found nine wetland sites in the region (Figure 2)
that meet one or more Ramsar Convention criteria
(Tables 2.1a and 2.1b) for international significance. Further study might well
show that other regional wetland also qualify. In
addition, many other sites would meet one or more of any reasonable set of
criteria for national significance (which have not been formulated in
Bangladesh as yet).

In order of general importance, the nine key wetland sites are:

TanguaHaor, perhaps the most
natural large wetland remaining in the region. Tangua
is the core of the northern haor system,
which held 40% of all waterfowl recorded during the February/March 1992
survey. TanguaHaor
has also been identified as the single most important major fish
production and dispersal centre ("mother fishery" - see
Glossary) in the region.

PasuaBeel,
GurmarHaor is surrounded by the
finest stands of natural floodplain vegetation in the region, including a
dense stand of Pongamiapinnatakoroch,
large areas of reeds Phragmiteskharkanol, and
patches of dense shrubbery. These appear to be the best remaining examples
of Pongamia forest and tall reed swamp
habitat in the region. The site provides secure roosting for huge numbers
of cormorants, herons, and egrets (at least 4,600 in late April 1992),
supports a number of bird species which are scarce elsewhere in the
region, including concentrations of Pallas's Fish Eagle, a globally
threatened species, and exhibits a much higher diversity of waterfowl and
other wetland birds than any other site investigated, with surveys finding
56% of all regional waterfowl species at this site.

HakalukiHaor has been long known as
a major wintering area for migratory waterfowl, especially ducks, and is a
popular duck-hunting area for sportsmen from Dhaka. Important for
wintering migratory shorebirds, and a mother fishery.

Hail Haor has biodiversity value
primarily with regard to its unique status in the region as the largest
shallow permanent lake, which supports a very rich and diverse aquatic
plant community and a wide variety of resident bird species, several of
which are scarce elsewhere in the region.

Kaliajuri Area, a relatively
undisturbed area representative of the deeply flooded zone, has also been
identified as a mother fishery. The area has some swamp forest patches,
and in the dry season extensive areas of winter grasses, such as Hematheriaprotensachailla which is rot resistant and widely
gathered and used in the construction of homestead erosion protection
works.

Companiganj Area contains the best reed
swamp habitat remaining in the region and also has some floodplain
grassland, which may be habitat for one or more threatened passerine bird
species. It has been identified as mother fishery. Otters and large
concentrations of turtles have been observed.

Bara Haor contains the best
floodplain grassland habitat remaining in the region, and some reed swamp
and swamp forest areas. Breeding cormorants and breeding herons have been
observed. As at Companiganj Area, the floodplain
grassland may be habitat for one or more threatened passerine bird
species.

KawadighiHaor remains very important
for a wide variety of waterfowl, despite changes occurring since Manu
River Project construction in 1976-83. Shallow beels
with large shallow fringes provide attractive habitat for large numbers of
shorebirds; and some beels may be
important as breeding sites for Whiskered Tern and Black-winged Stilts,
species not previously seen breeding in Bangladesh. Prior to Manu River
Project, it was a mother fishery. The scope for habitat
rehabilitation, and for modified flood control project operation in
support of this, are key issues at this site.

BalaiHaor was flagged on the
basis of the presence of two threatened bird species, Lesser Adjutant and
Pallas's Fish-Eagle; and of large concentrations of mostly resident ducks
during periods of flash flooding (32,000 were present in late March 1992).
The site is more heavily utilized by humans, habitats are more degraded,
and conditions in general are less unique than at the first eight sites
mentioned above. Further study will be necessary to determine if it would
more properly be classified as a nationally significant site.

Freshwater swampforest, reed swamp, and floodplain
grassland survive only as fragments, many of which are highly degraded, and in
the near-term are threatened with extirpation from the region. Nearly all
occurrences of these three threatened habitats occur within the nine key
wetland sites identified above.

Wetland/wetland-dependent
species presence and status

Waterfowl
and wetland-dependent birds

Ornithology studies were undertaken to determine the current status and
abundance of waterfowl and wetland-dependent birds in the region. The studies
show that despite massive habitat losses, the region remains an internationally
important wintering area of migratory waterfowl, principally ducks and
shorebirds; supports large numbers of some resident species; and is also of
undoubted importance for spring and possibly autumn passage migrants, for at
least two shorebird species. In late January 1993, a total of 386,000
individuals were counted at 15 monitored sites; the counts are thought to
represent at least 50% and possibly 75% of the total number of waterfowl
present in the region at the time of the count.

A total of 125 waterfowl species are known or thought to have occurred in
the region. Of these, 53 are or were resident breeding species or breeding
summer visitors; their current status is one species globally extinct; nine
species extinct in the region; six species no longer breeding but present as visitors;
and many other species populations greatly reduced. Another 42 species were
regular winter visitors or passage migrants; their current status is two
species extinct in the region; six species almost extinct in the region; and
many other species populations greatly reduced, especially wintering ducks and
geese. The remaining 30 species were probably never more than rare winter
visitors or passage migrants.

During the wetland ornithology field program, 161 waterfowl and
wetland-dependent bird species were observed, including 89 of the 125 historic
waterfowl species; 30 wetland-dependent species largely or wholly dependent on
wetland ecosystems, of which eleven are birds of prey; and 42 other species, of
which eleven are birds of prey. Of the 36 waterfowl species not
observed, 17 are extinct or nearly so in the region; eight are scarce visitors
to the region; six are extremely secretive and easily overlooked (mostly rails
and crakes); three species are mainly associated with rivers with extensive
sand banks, which occur in the region only along the Old Brahmaputra (aerial
survey only), and two species that are easily observed and relatively common,
for which the lack of observations is surprising. Of particular interest is the
observation during the field studies of 36 nesting pairs of Pallas's Fish Eagle
Halietusleucorhyphus;
this population has international significance as the largest actively breeding
population seen in recent years throughout the species' range.

Wetland-dependent mammal, amphibian, and reptile species

For wetland-dependent mammal, amphibian, and reptile species, 89 species in
37 families are thought to have occurred in the region. A full 35% of these
species are either extinct, threatened, or
commercially threatened. Almost all of the threatened species fall into one of
three broad groups: large ruminants; the larger predators; and commercially
valuable species - mainly turtles, but also lizards, otters, Indian Pangolin,
Hispid Hare, Freshwater Dolphin, Bull Frog, and Rock Python.

Eleven species (12% of the regional species total) are regionally extinct:
Leopard, Tiger, the three rhinoceros species (Sumatran Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros, and Great Indian Rhinoceros), Pygmy Hog,
Wild Boar, Gaur, Wild Buffalo, Swamp Deer, and Marsh Crocodile. Eight of these
species are classified by IUCN as (globally) Endangered, and two as Vulnerable
(Gaur, Marsh Crocodile). Wild Boar survives in domesticated form.

Nine surviving species are classified by IUCN as threatened. Two are
classified as Endangered (Hispid Hare, Asian Elephant), two as Vulnerable (Rock
Python, Freshwater Dolphin), four as Indeterminate - known to be either
Endangered, Vulnerable, or Rare (Bengal Fox, Spotted Pond Turtle, Sylhet Roof Turtle, Yellow Common Lizard), and one as K
meaning status uncertain (Smooth Indian Otter). All of these species except for
Bengal Fox and Sylhet Roof Turtle are also listed
under CITES Appendix I or II.

A further eleven species are listed under CITES Appendix I or II: Indian
Pangolin, Common Otter, Small Indian Civet, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Common
Roof Turtle, Ganges Soft Shell, Peacock Soft Shell, Flapshelled
Spotted Turtle, Bengal Grey Lizard, Bull Frog. Finally, two species Malayan Box
Turtle, Bengal Eyed Turtle) are expected to be given Commercially Threatened
classification in the next edition of the IUCN Red Book.

Wetland plant species

The wild macrophytes of the region's lowlands
consist of at least 216 species, including nine exotics. Though three of the
nine habitat types are threatened (see above), all but three
individual macrophyte are thought to be viable
in disturbed settings (permanent water bodies, crop fields, homestead gardens
and forests). Three macrophyte species are thought to
be threatened. Rosa involucratagunjakata, a wild
rose, was formerly abundant in the reed swamps but is now rare throughout its
range in South Asia. Eurayleferoxmakhna and Nelumbonuciferapadma, both rooted floating plants, are now found
only in Hail Haor.

Wetland values and
resource utilization

Many
wetland plants and animals are used locally and/or traded to urban centres and internationally. These uses include fodder,
fuel, and fertilizer derived from wetland plants; tree branches used for fish
aggregation; wild animal and plant foods; luxury items such as tortoise shell;
and many others. In addition, wetlands provide important in situ
services; the most important of these include likely erosion protection of
village homesteads in the deeply flooded area; fish habitat and food; and flood
storage.

Policy context

Through
a variety of national and international policy instruments, the Government has
clearly committed itself to environmentally sound management in general and of
biodiversity assets, and to efforts to achieve and maintain environmental quality
acceptable to extractive users and to sustainable ecosystem functioning. The
relevant national policy documents are the Memorandum for the Bangladesh Aid
Group 1992-3, Fourth Five Year Plan 1990-5, National Environment
Policy, National Environment Management Action Plan (NEMAP), and Forestry
Master Plan. Relevant international agreements signed by the Government are
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of Importance
Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), Rio Convention on Biological Diversity,
and the World Heritage Convention.

Institutions

Numerous
government agencies have responsibilities related to wetlands: Forest
Department (wildlife conservation and protected areas management, wetland
ownership); Ministry of Land (wetland ownership); Department of
Environment (water quality monitoring and pollution control); Department of
Fisheries (fisheries management); National Herbarium and National Botanic
Gardens (wild floral research and conservation); Ministry of Irrigation
and Bangladesh Water Development Board (irrigation, drainage, and flood
control); and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (owner of reed
lands and large-scale biomass consumer, through Sylhet
Pulp and Paper Mill).

Both national and international non-governmental organizations have been
active in Bangladesh in addressing wetland issues. These include International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Waterfowl and
Wetland Research Bureau (IWRB), Asian Wetland Bureau (AWB), Nature
Conservation Movement (NACOM), and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced
Studies (BCAS).

Other relevant institutional structures include the South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and (proposed) committees to link NGOs in the
region; Government and NGOs; and national and international NGOs.

Driving forces and
issues

Over
the coming years, a number of driving forces will tend to maintain or change
the extent or character of wetlands: increasing rural-urban and rural-government
links ('monetization'); continued dependence of local people on local resources
for biomass and other necessities; rural impoverishment pushing local people
into wetland resource gathering for own use and sale; expansion of new
technologies ('modernization') in water management, agriculture, and other
sectors; increasing and widening local, urban, and international markets and
demand for wetland products; traditional cultural

Strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

The
SWOT analysis of wetlands produced the following main points:

Current
strengths

Current
weaknesses


Remaining wetlands have substantial value
 Important representative habitats still exist
 The tenure situation is uncomplicated
 Government development strategies and desirable improvements to
wetlands are highly compatible (see Table 4.1)
 Some wetland education already taking place, at various levels within
and outside government
 Some alliances between national and international NGOs are already in
place


Lack of viable protected freshwater wetland areas
 Some remaining wetland systems, species, and habitats are at critical
levels for continued survival
 Wetland values i.e. current and potential contributions of wetlands to
national development objectives are not adequately recognized, at all levels
within and outside Government
 Information about wetlands is inadequate
 Current institutional arrangements for wetland management are
inappropriate
 Wetland benefits are well below potential sustainable levels; little
value is added to wetland products
 Distribution of wetland benefits could be more equitable (progressive)


Unsustainable levels of exploitation leading to declining extent and numbers
of habitats and species
 Water pollution, from increased human activity and reduced natural
purification services as wetlands deteriorate
 Disturbance, including hunting, which reduces usable habitat for many
species
 Felling of mature lowland trees without replacement
 Suppression of natural regeneration of swamp forest trees by grazing and
fuel collection
 Drainage improvements, flood control works, induced siltation
 Appropriation of control over resources by powerful outside interests
from traditional community/local managers

Biodiversity
(wetland and upland) objectives and initiatives

The
draft final version of the study (April 1993) presented the Wetland Subteam's initial attempt to articulate concrete objectives
and initiatives that would feed into the regional planning exercise. In
subsequent months, these objectives and initiatives continued to develop,
through dialogue with other members of the NERP team and village people
involved in the participatory studies.

Both Wetland Subteam and other NERP team members
tended to feel that biodiversity objectives/initiatives would likely be
peripheral to the main thrust of the regional plan. Surprisingly, however,
during the formulation of the regional plan strategy and the portfolio of
initiatives, a strong consensus emerged in support of biodiversity objectives
and initiatives, based on an appreciation of their relevance to core
development objectives.

The elements of the regional plan that address biodiversity objectives and
initiatives are:

Initiative: Upland Biodiversity Conservation Studies
and Implementation. Subsequently, included as a component of the Northeast
Regional Environment Management, Research, and Education Project (NEMREP),
for which a pre-feasibility study was produced

Initiative: Biodiversity Strategic Planning Exercise of
the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In NEMREP.

Upland biodiversity
(annex)

The
upland studies were limited to a review of existing literature and statistics,
plus short field trips.

Tropical forest in reasonably good condition occupies about 18,000 ha of
uplands in the Northeast Region. This is mainly in Rema-Kalenga
Wildlife Sanctuary (the only protected area gazetted
in the region); in the Reserve Forest associated with it; and in the Juri Forest Range. Both areas are located in the hill areas
on the eastern side of the region and contain some mixed evergreen/deciduous
tropical forest. Juri Range also contains extensive
stands of bamboo as pure patches and as undergrowth (about 13,000 ha are
classified as bamboo lands).

In contrast, sal forest Shorearobusta, found at lower elevations along the
northern boundary of the region on the western side, survives only in highly
degraded form, and is considered to be threatened nationally.

Repositories of biodiversity with potential commercial,
medical, and scientific value;

Sources of forest products and services for local
people, including indigenous people, and the nation.

Based
on preliminary checklists, the region's uplands support over 200 species of
birds, about 70 mammal species including nine species of primates, and about
800 woody plant species; with the addition of herbaceous and lower order
species, the number of macrophytes could easily total
twice this.